Groove to the Music with Dance Classes Near Sullivans Island, SC

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) — The town of Sullivan’s Island could have its water supply cut off this summer, amid a dispute with the Charleston Water System.

According to a letter sent to the town from Charleston Water System (CWS) in October 2023, when Sullivan’s Island purchased 750,000 gallons per day of capacity from the Charleston Water System in 1994, it was a 30-year term which expires on July 19, 2024.

The water system tells Sullivan’s Island leaders that if there is not a new contract by then, service will be disconnected for the town’s 2,000 residents on July 20.

In addition, in the letter, the water system said the town has been paying $0.88 per thousand gallons of water since 2017, and calls that rate “arbitrary and unsupported by facts.”

Charleston Water System says the rate in 2017 was $0.96, and each year, there is a new projected rate for the town. For example, the rate last year was $1.53 per thousand gallons. At the end of the year, an adjusted rate was given which amounted to $1.11.

CWS also said in the letter to Sullivan’s Island that they are willing to provide water service to the town as long as it pays all outstanding amounts owed to the water system. As of February, that amount totaled $1.08 million.

In previous letters responding to Charleston Water System, Sullivan’s Island Mayor, Patrick O’Neil, said they have been paying the correct rate and that a memorandum of understanding on a rate formula was never approved.

“SI (Sullivan’s Island) has been paying the undisputed portion of the volumetric rate since 2017. SI does not owe capital charges unless SI purchases additional capacity which SI has not done.” a letter dated June 30 to CWS reads.

Sullivan’s Island leaders claim that the contract with the water system is clear that capital charges should not be charged on top of the initial capacity the town purchased in 1994. The town also adds that “because SI has not given written notice to CWS not to renew the contract, the contract will be automatically renewed for 15 years or until July 19, 2039, as set forth in the contract.”

In its October letter responding to the town, CWS CEO, Mark Cline, said CWS cannot agree to a rate formula that does not include capital charges or a perpetual term.

As of now, Sullivan’s Island and Charleston Water System are in legal remediation for the issue.

On Friday, Sullivan’s Island leaders released a statement to News 2:

“It’s disappointing that the leadership at Charleston Water System has apparently decided to ignore the confidentiality agreement put in place during the mediation of our long-standing dispute.

Years ago, CWS decided to raise our rates as if our signed contract with them did not exist.

As CWS knows, we’ve simply been continuing to pay the undisputed amount set in our long-standing, signed agreement.

We hope everyone will understand we’re standing firm on the principle that signed contracts are signed contracts. It’s the right thing to do for our citizens.

We will continue our good faith efforts to reach an appropriate agreement through mediation, or if need be, in the court.”

– Sullivan’s Island town leaders

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – The Town of Sullivan’s Island has agreed to pay just over $227,000 to Charleston Water System amid a contract dispute.

Sullivan’s Island Town Council spent almost an hour in an executive session on Monday night while they received legal advice on contractual negotiations with Charleston Water System.

“That signed contract constitutes a valuable asset of the town and provides certainty regarding the rates that our residents pay for water. Years ago, Charleston Water System decided to raise our rates as if our signed contract did not exist,” said Town Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Justin Novak, as he read aloud a lengthy motion upon council’s return to open session.

As News 2 reported last month, Charleston Water System claimed in an October 2023 letter to the town that Sullivan’s Island has been paying less than the correct rate since 2017. A spokesperson for CWS said the town owed $1,078,000 as of the beginning of March.

The letter also said the 30-year contract between CWS, and the town will expire on July 19, 2024 and if there is not a new contract by then, water service will be disconnected for the town’s 2,000 on July 20^th.

“The town disputed that rate increase and continued to pay the undisputed amount owed in accordance with our longstanding signed agreement and placed the disputed amount in escrow pending the resolution of that dispute,” Councilman Novak read.

He continued with the motion and said CWS is ignoring the other terms and stated the town would not accept any of the water system’s proposals in the contractual dispute.

“The town must stand firm that signed contracts are signed contracts,” the councilman said as part of the motion.

The town used who leaders said is a nationally recognized rate consultant to calculate what they owe.

“Accordingly, I move that town council authorize the payment of $227,361 to satisfy in full the disputed portion of arrearage now calculated to be owed under the terms of our written agreement with Charleston Water System,” Councilman Novak finished.

The motion passed unanimously. News 2 reached out to Charleston Water System after the meeting. A spokesperson said they are evaluating the action taken.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — Town leaders approved a roughly $227,000 payment to cover its debt to Charleston Water System. The utility says it’s not enough.

The amount Sullivan’s Island Town Council approved is less than a quarter of the $1,007,300 the utility said the town owes.

The town of Sullivan’s Island and Charleston Water System have been locked in a dispute over how the utility calculates bills for its water since 2017. The utility has threatened to cut the town’s water supply if an agreement cannot be reached.

Sullivan’s Island and CWS agreed to a wholesale contract in 1994. The town paid roughly $2 million in initial charges for use of up to 750,000 gallons of water per day, according to the contract.

Councilman Justin Novak, in his April 1 motion to approve the payment, said the utility increased the town’s rates that year, which the town disputed. It has “continued to pay the undisputed amount owed in accordance with our long-standing, signed agreement,” he said.

The town and CWS entered into mediation in February to settle the dispute. Novak in his April 1 motion stated that the town would not accept the proposals the utility offered to resolve the contractual dispute. Instead, the town consulted with Raftelis, a utility rate consultant, to calculate the amount owed to Charleston Water System, which came out to be $227,361.

Charleston Water System disagrees.

CWS CEO Mark Cline told The Post and Courier in March that the town owed over $1 million in back charges. That resulted from unpaid capital charges, or charges that pay for system maintenance or infrastructure upgrades, and partially paid volumetric charges for the water. The town has paid 0.88 cents per thousand gallons since 2017, Cline said.

Town officials have said Sullivan’s Island does not owe capital charges to Charleston Water System because of the $2 million payment in 1994 for 750,000 gallons of water per day, according to the contract.

SUMMERVILLE — An annual event that’s been a perennial success from root to petal, Flowertown Festival 2024 blossoms this weekend in its 51st celebration of the Flower Town in the Pines and the season the town was named for.

What began with 1,500 visitors in 1973 has flourished into one of the largest arts and crafts festivals in the Southeast and the Summerville Family YMCA’s premier fundraiser and marketing event. The three-day fete typically draws close to 250,000 people to the six-block area near Hutchinson Square and Azalea Park — land that was originally purchased and donated to the town in the 1920s by a civic group that became the Flowertown Garden Club.

The event is currently at capacity for vendors with its sprawling selection of 350 different merchants, artisans, civic groups and food and beverage temptations. Running April 5-7 with free admission, the festival is open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

This year’s Sunday finale will feature an Atlanta Braves experience. The baseball team will have a home plate set up and, with bats and helmets used in actual games, visitors can have their photo taken and made into a baseball card.

Other offerings include the Children’s Jubilee rides, farmer’s market, a petting zoo, musical performances, athletic tournaments, a dunk tank, a cosmetology group doing “fairie hair” and of course, the food — hot dogs, pineapple drinks, lemonade and sweet tea stands, waffle cones, homemade fudge and more.

During one year’s festival, wrote Barbara Lynch Hill in her 1998 book, “Summerville: A Sesquicentennial Edition of the History of The Flower Town in the Pines,” the local Kiwanis Club sold 4,500 hamburgers and 2,500 Italian sausages.

“We draw people from all over the Southeast, and we’ve had people come from Alaska,” said YMCA Chief Executive Officer Joe Debney, who will be one of the dunk tank’s first volunteers the morning of April 5. “A lot of the $4 million in accommodations revenue drawn into the area is pulled in by the Flowertown Festival.”

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Several Sullivan’s Island dog walkers and regulars are speaking up about their personal experiences with coyotes.

This comes a day after town officials reported five coyote-led attacks involving dogs within the month of August.

They say the wild animals has been approaching people, dogs and roaming open areas of the beach more often than usual.

The Jourdan family says they experienced a too-close encounter with a coyote over the weekend.

“They were out halfway to the water, from the dune, so middle of the beach. And they were attacked by coyotes,” Jourdan said.

Five-year-old Willie Nelson, the Jourdan family dog, was taken by two coyotes early Saturday morning while on a walk with a babysitter.

Jourdan says it happened in broad daylight and in the middle of the beach.

He adds the family was devastated by the loss of their “wonder dog.”

“I was trying to get closure for my family’s sake, for Willie, because we weren’t even there. Which was frustrating. I crawled on my belly for over four miles between stations 26 and 28,” Jourdan said.

The attack occurred at Station 27, a part of the beach several residents have called a “breeding ground” for coyote packs.

Officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources say the breed has been approaching people, dogs and roaming open areas of the beach more often.

They add that mid-summer and fall are peak active times for these animals, meaning it is when coyotes migrate to new spaces, feed and have young.

SCDNR officials say another reason for the increased interactions could be from them being opportunistic feeders, meaning they will be quick and take anything they need.

Others say they have been chased by coyotes in the past but escaped.

“We were walking in June when a coyote came out of the dunes and started chasing,” Sullivan’s regular Shelly Carson said. “I was able to chase it away, and it ran down the beach to chase a golden retriever.”

Now, they avoid the area altogether or take proactive measures to be able to walk safely.

“I’ve always known there are coyotes here,” Carson said. “Never seen one until this year. Really, March was the first time I had my first sighting and started carrying pepper spray on the beach. In June I started carrying a birdie alarm. And now I carry a stick with me too.”

Visitors are asking for help from officials to curb the problem.

“It’s close to our hearts, but the coyote system is unfortunately not something that is new, declining or lessened. Rather the opposite,” Jourdan said.

They ask for coyote population control, area management and listening to residential concerns.

Town officials say they do have systems in place to manage the problem, which include education, tracking, hazing and lethal control.

They ask anyone who experiences an encounter or sighting to report the problem immediately.

If you run into a coyote, you’re advised to react loudly, throw small sticks or cans or spray the animal with water.

For more information on coyotes along Sullivan’s Island, click here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – It’s a popular tradition that many participate in right here along the South Carolina coast – braving the cold ocean temperatures for a quick dip (and we mean quick) to welcome the new year.

One of the first polar bear plunges dates back to the early 1900s when the L Street Brownies in Boston took the plunge into the icy cold Dorchester Bay in 1904. The club has been celebrating the new year with a plunge ever since, according to NationalToday.com.

While many take the dip for fun, some plunge into freezing waters to raise funds for charities. It’s also believed the dips boost the immune system, activate endorphins, and reduce stress.

Dunleavy’s Pub on Sullivan’s Island organizes its polar bear plunge each year in support of Special Olympics of South Carolina. The organization provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in myriad Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Plungers will gather on the beach for the pub’s 29^th annual polar plunge at 2:00 p.m. on New Year’s Day. Dunleavy’s Pub is located at 2213 Middle Street on Sullivans Island.

Over on Seabrook Island, plungers will gather for the town’s polar bear plunge at North Beach near Boardwalk 1 at 10:30 a.m. Attendees can then warm up near a bonfire while sipping on some hot chocolate.

Finally, Folly Beach will host its 10th annual Bill Murray Look-a-like Polar Plunge on the beach New Year’s Day. Hundreds of people attend the Polar Plunge each year, many of whom come dressed as their favorite Bill Murray characters.

There is a costume contest that starts at 12:30 p.m., and the plunge takes place at 1:30 p.m. beachside at the Tides Hotel.

Ocean temperatures are currently at about 56 degrees in Charleston Harbor. The temperature along the beaches is expected to be around 58 degrees under a mostly sunny sky on Jan. 1